Ya Boy
|Alias = |Born = |Died = |Origin = Daly City, California |Genre = Hip hop, West Coast Hip Hop |Occupation(s) = Rapper |Years_active = 2002-present |Management Company:Nitevision Management |Label = Konvict Music,Kon Live Distribution,Black Card Music |Associated_acts = Akon, San Quinn, The Game |RL = www.myspace.com/yaboy }} William Joseph Crawford (born January 28, 1984), better known by his stage name Ya Boy, is an American rapper from the Fillmore District, San Francisco. He is a younger cousin of San Francisco rapper San Quin. Crawford graduated from El Camino High School in South San Francisco, California, in 2001. Career Consistently maintaining intact his self-assured and cocky attitude, West Coast gangsta rapper Ya Boy quickly made the right connections in the industry as a developing MC in the Bay Area's independent rap scene. As a youth coming up in Compton Watts district, a neighborhood known more for its violent crime than its jazz heritage, Ya Boy (born William Crawford) caught the hip-hop bug early on because of Bay Area mainstays San Quinn and Messy Marv, who are his first cousins. The local buzz surrounding the eager rapper began with the song "16's with Me," which sampled the Darth Vader theme, "The Imperial March," from Star Wars. He continued to release many mixtapes and local singles with the support of cousin San Quinn's independent label Done Deal. On his 2005 debut album, Rookie of the Year, he gathered Bay Area rap luminaries, like Snoop Dogg and producer Rick Rock, to cement his status as a noteworthy newcomer.In 2006, he amicably left his cousin's label to pursue opportunities with his uncle, who was an executive at Compton rapper the Game's Black Wall Street imprint. His affiliation to the Game allowed him to work with top industry producers and lead to greater exposure outside of the Bay Area locale as shown by his feature in The Source magazine's "Unsigned Hype" column. Cyril Cordor, All Music Guide. His song "16's With Me", whose beat sampled that of the "Imperial March" from the film Star Wars, was his first big hit. Ya Boy appeared on the track "Dance with a Pimp" on Kevin Federline's 2006 album . In 2009 DJ Sourmilk from Power 106 FM would introduce Ya Boy to Mike G who at the time was also working at Power 106 FM. Ya Boy would sign with DJ Sourmilk and Mike G's management company "Nitevision Management. Also in 2009 Ya Boy started his own record label with his manager Mike G called "Black Card Music".Ya Boy also appeared on the More Than a Game sound track with his song "We Ready" in February 2010. He his now signed to Akon's label Konvict Music. Discography Studio albums EPs *2010: Guns and Roses (with Big Rich) Mixtapes *2005: The Future of the Franchise *2006: Ya Boy Radio: Part 1 *2006: Chapter 1: The Rise *2007: The Fix *2007: Optimus Rime *2007: The Prince of the Bay *2008: ''I'm 'Bout to Murdah This Shit *2008: The Bay Area Bully *2009: Kush 2009 *2009: Mohawks & Heavy Metal '' ''(Hosted By Digital Product, DJ Ill Will & DJ Rockstar) *2010: ''The Fix 2 (Hosted By Digital Product, DJ Woogie, DJ Folk, DJ Ill Will & DJ Rockstar) External links * Category:1984 births Category:African American rappers Category:Rappers from Los Angeles, California Category:People from Malibu, California Category:Living people cs:Ya Boy de:Ya Boy it:Ya Boy simple:Ya Boy fi:Ya Boy